Looking ahead – boot 2020
Sept 12, 2019
Düsseldorf, Germany – January 18 – 26, 2020
boot (with a lower case ‘b’) Düsseldorf, the world’s largest water sports trade fair, will open its doors again next January. If it ever occurred to you to take in a gorgeous show then do a bit of European travel, this might be the year.
In 2019, the show was spectacular. The Dusseldorf exhibition complex is a campus of 19 huge halls and 18 of them are all packed with boats, charter destinations, gear and other water-related exhibits and ecological ideas. Last year’s edition held almost 2,000 exhibitors from 73 countries with their products and services in staged themed worlds. A total of 248,000 visitors from 118 countries creates an interesting audience.
The show is huge, but manageable thanks to the groupings; a building filled with large powerboats connects to another filled with cruising catamarans. Runabouts and smaller cruisers are grouped in a separate building while sail cruisers take up the best part of two. There’s a building with gear and clothing, another with marine art. You can fill several days taking it all in; it’s quite something.
All of the European builders and suppliers are on hand, some of them are familiar names but others may surprise you. There are many brands that don’t frequently come to North America, or if they do not all models are shown to us. Since this show presents such a large international audience, many Asian builders as well as the pool of the world’s custom builders also use Dusseldorf as a showcase. The mega-yachts will astound visitors, particularly since this is an indoor show. It’s one thing to moor a boat at a pier but quite another scale to present it on a cradle with crowds and heavy lighting. The show succeeded handsomely of being both an entertainment and a shopping platform.
Dusseldorf is a medium sized European city on the Rhine. In mid January, the weather is quite acceptable, particularly if you are escaping the frigidity of the Canadian winter. The hospitality and great atmosphere is unique. Boats and Europe combine to deliver a very splendid winter vacation.
Learn more at www.boot.com
– JM
